The government has continued to keep a stony silence over the delay in approving the distribution of two major foreign publications said to be highly critical of the authorities.

Home Ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat, when asked if the delays in the distribution of Asiaweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review over the past three weeks were due to negative reports on the government, he said, "No comment."

Since the beginning of this month, the release letters for the sale of the Hong Kong-based weeklies have been unusually delayed, affecting even their latest editions.

The March 15 copy of Review and March 16 Asiaweek have not been approved for distribution as of yesterday, although the magazines usually hit the streets six days before the cover date.

The Home Affairs Ministry had earlier delayed the March 1 and 2 editions of Review and Asiaweek by two and three weeks respectively, with the latter approved for distribution last Wednesday and the former a week before that.

Asiaweek had raised the ire of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for publishing an unflattering photo of him in its Jan 26 issue, which Mahathir had said was an attempt to portray him as an "idiot".

No comment

When asked if the delays in distribution of the two magazines would persist in the coming weeks, Aseh again said, "no comment".

Aseh was answering questions from journalists after officiating a blood donation campaign sponsored by Arab-Malaysian Development Bhd and Rela (People's Voluntary Corps) in Kuala Lumpur today.

The Review and Asiaweek have a readership of 15,000 and 25,000 respectively in Malaysia, which is considered one of the biggest markets for both magazines.

Internet versions of the current editions of both magazines are already online.

Meanwhile, Aseh also told reporters that any questions concerning the recent clashes in Old Klang Road in Petaling Jaya should be directed to the deputy inspector general of police Jamil Johari and Selangor chief police officer Nik Ismail Nik Yusof.

"All statements to be made concerning the incidents at Kampung Medan are only to be made by the deputy inspector general and the Selangor police chief, so I don't want to make any statements," he said.

When asked to comment on the involvement of Indonesians in creating unrest, he said that they would be deported immediately if implicated.

Later attempts by malaysiakini to meet the Home Ministry's Publications Control Unit director Tengku Mahmood Tengku Ismail for an explanation on the delays of both Asiaweek and Review were unsuccessful.

Officials at the unit said he was unavailable.